Advice on descending steep grades in low gear

[RMD3819]

2019 XLT FX4

The scenario:
Descended Pike’s Peak in CO. 14K altitude, 14 mile steep road. All paved with many switchbacks. Plus it was raining. 30MPH speed limit.

A few miles down a brake check showed 375F with 300F maximum temp allowed so we had to park to cool the brakes down.

What we tried to descend in a lower gear:
-Cruise control did not work under 30. Nearly all of the road requires less than 30 especially with all the switchbacks.
-Trail control worked the best but was frustrating since it must be under 20 plus constantly resetting the speed after using the brakes.
-Manual shifting with the button was frustrating also. Constantly switching between first and second and sometimes third was a PITA. I also have a manual shift vehicle and this was a million times harder.
-The latter part we just coasted as much as possible in regular D not using trail control or manual shifting.

We made it down safely with no brake smell so that was a win.

I read that tow mode uses an engine brake but wasn’t sure if that would work without a trailer attached.

Ideas for the next time?

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[AzScorpion]

We were up at Mt Evans which around the same elevation 14,000'. Coming down I just used S mode and manually shifted so could choose which gear I liked. I'm not sure why that was not working well for you because it's so easy to just hit the button between 2nd & 3rd gear as needed. That worked out well and I rarely had to touch the brakes.

 

[Grumpaw]

Tow mode works with and without a trailer. I drive with tow mode almost 100% of the time, and it does work when going down a grade, even more when downshifting.
As Dave replied, in sport mode, and down shifting it works just as well.

 

[LawnMM]

Sport mode will not down shift on its own, try it. It only downshifts as you put your foot on the gas and drop the RPM range lower with a smaller gear on a downgrade.

Don't take this to mean you have to manually downshift in Sport, you don't. My point is say you're coming down Pikes at 25mph, whatever gear you're in when you establish that speed as you coast, you'll stay in it, in Sport. The engine won't downshift unless you put your foot on the gas, and it won't upshift unless you put your foot on the brake when you're coasting.

Try it. Whenever I'm coming down mountain passes in Colorado I always shift to Sport because it essentially stops the trans from auto shifting when I'm coasting and I can engine brake on the way down.

If I want to go a touch faster I'll feather the accelerator a touch and it'll drop a gear and I'll pick up a bit speed. If I need to slow down I tap the brakes and it upshifts to a bigger gear and I'll coast and engine brake.

 

[mtbikernate]

nice to hear about how sport mode works in this context. the "measly" southern appalachian grades I drive generally aren't enough that tow/haul mode doesn't handle it well enough on its own.

 

[Cabose-1]

I have made the trip up and down pikes peak twice.
I used tow mode and manually switched between 1,2,3, gears. Rpms where high, 3 or 4 grand speed smooth and constant. Brakes just warm. Change transmission and oil when you get home. It was an awesome time got altitude sickness, i am a sea level dweller.
Thats how i did it. Drove all around Colorado in tow mode. Regular drive mode just horrible.

 

[Lcr3000]

Driving in the Appalachians and the winding up and down mountainous roads, I made it fine in tow mode pulling my 2000lbs trailer. I know the question was stated without a trailer, but the Ranger held its gear traveling downhill when on a fairly steep slope. I tried to manually shift to see if I could go to down a gear and gain some speed, but it wouldn't let me until I had my foot on the accelerator.

 

[Jason B]

Sport mode will not down shift on its own, try it. It only downshifts as you put your foot on the gas and drop the RPM range lower with a smaller gear on a downgrade.

Don't take this to mean you have to manually downshift in Sport, you don't. My point is say you're coming down Pikes at 25mph, whatever gear you're in when you establish that speed as you coast, you'll stay in it, in Sport. The engine won't downshift unless you put your foot on the gas, and it won't upshift unless you put your foot on the brake when you're coasting.

Try it. Whenever I'm coming down mountain passes in Colorado I always shift to Sport because it essentially stops the trans from auto shifting when I'm coasting and I can engine brake on the way down.

If I want to go a touch faster I'll feather the accelerator a touch and it'll drop a gear and I'll pick up a bit speed. If I need to slow down I tap the brakes and it upshifts to a bigger gear and I'll coast and engine brake.

Are you talking about Sport Mode or Select Mode, two different things that both use the gear shift in 'S'.

 

[LawnMM]

Sport mode, as I said, made no mention of the selector because I wasn't suggesting it be used sir

 

[seanellaz]

Sport mode will not down shift on its own, try it. It only downshifts as you put your foot on the gas and drop the RPM range lower with a smaller gear on a downgrade.

Don't take this to mean you have to manually downshift in Sport, you don't. My point is say you're coming down Pikes at 25mph, whatever gear you're in when you establish that speed as you coast, you'll stay in it, in Sport. The engine won't downshift unless you put your foot on the gas, and it won't upshift unless you put your foot on the brake when you're coasting.

Try it. Whenever I'm coming down mountain passes in Colorado I always shift to Sport because it essentially stops the trans from auto shifting when I'm coasting and I can engine brake on the way down.

If I want to go a touch faster I'll feather the accelerator a touch and it'll drop a gear and I'll pick up a bit speed. If I need to slow down I tap the brakes and it upshifts to a bigger gear and I'll coast and engine brake.

Sport mode + Tow / Haul + manually downshift.

 

[RMD3819]

The suggestion to use sport mode was excellent and worked well.

I tried to use tow mode with it but my Ranger will not allow tow mode in sport unless I am doing something wrong. Thoughts on this?

 

[Grumpaw]

The suggestion to use sport mode was excellent and worked well.

I tried to use tow mode with it but my Ranger will not allow tow mode in sport unless I am doing something wrong. Thoughts on this?

Tow mode only works by itself. When you shift into sport mode it negates the tow mode....basically one or the other.
In any mode you can manually downshift to a lower gear.

 

[LawnMM]

I like the Sport method because there's no reason to touch the shifter, we're used to how cars work from years of driving...

Skinny pedal = faster
Fat pedal = slower

You need only feather either one to alter your speed to the desired point and let off

if you're slowing down with the brakes you'll downshift to a larger gear and you can engine brake to maintain the slower speed

If the grade has reduced or traffic has opened up and you're okay with more speed feather the accelerator and you'll upshift and pick up some speed

Turns into a little game on mountain descents ?

 

[RMD3819]

Lawn MM-How can you engine brake in sport mode? I thought trailer mode was the only way to engine brake.

 

[Grumpaw]

Lawn MM-How can you engine brake in sport mode? I thought trailer mode was the only way to engine brake.

There is no "engine brake". It's the tranny programing that does the downshifting, in tow and sport mode.
When in either, there is a certain point when slowing down that the puter reads the combination of engine rpm's and tranny "slowing" that will cause the trans to downshift. There is a certain point where if you just touch (Rich calls it "feathering") the brake or "blip" the accelerator, that will cause the trans to downshift, making it feel like an engine brake. It can even be done while slowing on a flat roadway. Those of us who tow a lot can usually do this without thinking about it, but after a bit of practice it is easy. Just a matter of being attuned to the way the vehicle responds to throttle and brake being barely touched.

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